January 14, 2010

Anything is possible (in this conference)

This is easily the weakest the America East basketball conference has been in a while. Meaning that this really was the perfect year for BU to experience more adversity than usual. Scott Brittain is most likely out for the year. BJ Bailey is a Mountain Hawk (Leigh) and Tyler Morris has a broken hand. However, you have to love Tyler's un-phased attitude. He has a better seat on the bench than most of the assistants do (right next to Chambers) and he's up and active the entire game. Furthermore, look how he broke the news on Facebook:

Truly respectable. 366 days - that just sucks.

Injuries suck, but for every single team to ever play a sport, they're part of the game. This team can do just fine in this conference when it gets historic performances from it's able players as they have in consecutive games.

First, against Hartford, Corey and John both put up 30+ points - the first time a duo has done that in Terrier basketball history. Then the next game against UMBC three, count 'em, three Terriers scored at least 20 points. You shouldn't even need to guess who they were (Corey, John, and Jake). Granted, this all was against the worst two teams in the conference, but really, any team could theoretically run-off three straight wins and all of the sudden be in the NCAA tournament.

Then tonight, for the first time in years, BU won in Binghamton in a single-digit game. Really, BU-BU play double-digit games in Binghamton, going one way or the other. This really hasn't happened since 2003. Let's get used to realizing that that was a long time ago! Beyond that the Terriers are undefeated on the road in conference play.

I like to think of myself as the self-proclaimed biggest America East basketball fan at this school. For whatever reason, this year more than any other, I've become completely obsessed with this conference. I don't know if it's because of the mediocrity, or because I've seen so many of the team's players for more than one season, but I can't get a big enough fix of stats, box scores, schedules, and general hypothesis about the America East. Through my hours of inspection I've decided there isn't a school that can be considered a "true" favorite at this point.

Sure, there are three teams, really at the top of the conference - BU, Stony Brook, and Vermont. Then there's UNH and Maine. Then the middle of the pack: Binghamton (somehow!) and the rest: Hartford, UMBC, and Albany. But really, there's no supreme team. Any team could really pull off a victory against any other, and that's why I think this conference is one of the most entertaining in the nation. It may collectively suck, but it's incredibly fun to watch.

Basically, anything is possible. Even BU, who are playing a walk-on who started the year not on the team 15 minutes a game, could be playing a number one or two seed in the first round of the NCAA tournament. I believe, still. But then again, I've been believing every single year. That makes me feel like Jar-Jar Binks.